Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso)

Although Picasso spent most of his life in France, Barcelona was where he established himself as an artist. Born in Málaga, Picasso's father was a painter and a teacher who liked to joke that his boy learned to sketch before he could talk. In 1895, when Picasso was still a teenager, the family moved to Barcelona; Picasso began to study, and his father - to teach, at the Llotha School of Fine Arts. Overcome with industrialization, the capital of Catalonia seethed with creative energy, leaving quite an impression on the nascent artist. In 1897, however, he was sent to Madrid, to study at the best art school in Spain at the time - the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts. Academics, however, were not to the youth's liking, and he ended up spending more time at the El Prado Museum than in the classroom. Two years later, he returned to Barcelona - the city that would incubate his artistic career. Picasso became an essential part of Barcelona's bohemian scene, and could often be found at the now-legendary Els Quatre Gats (The Four Catas), a favorite cafe for artists at the time. Picasso's first show (in 1900) was even held at "The Four Cats". That same year, Picasso went to Paris for the first time, garnering inspiration from the works of Cezanne and Matisse, who where considered avant garde for their time. Upon his return to Barcelona, Picasso began his "Blue Period", which also marked the point at which he turned away from painting realistically. His blue paintings were melancholy and unbelievably beautiful, with friends, beggars, prostitutes and views of Barcelona as his subjects.

The Picasso Museum in Barcelona opened its doors in 1963 - while Picasso was still living. Following the wishes of Picasso himself, it was created by the artist's friend and personal secretary, Jaume Sabarté. At first, the museum's core consisted of Sabarté's own private collection of Picasso's works, and was called the Sabarté Collection. Admittedly, there was also a practical reason for such a name - since Picasso was a harsh critic of the Franco regime, at the time in question it was impossible to name a museum after the artist. After the death of Sabarté, Picasso donated an impressive amount of his own works that he had kept himself. As Picasso once said: "I am the biggest collector of Picasso in the world." Today, the permanent collection of the Picasso Museum has more than 3800 works by the artist, a large part of which are from the artist's early years and his Blue Period.